If you've ever had a migraine, you know how hard it is to function. You just want to crawl into a dark, quiet room. Now relief may be just a spray away thanks to a new migraine medicine.
Shuly Edwards loves hanging out with her daughters - until migraines turn play into purgatory.
"It's like you were hit by a truck," she said. "It's like you can't physically do it. You can't get past that pulsating feeling, this heaviness in your head, this throbbing, shooting pain behind your eye."
Edwards has up to 20 migraines a month, making it difficult to watch three kids under seven.
"The pain was just so overwhelming and the nausea was so overwhelming, I couldn't function at all," she said.
Medications take hours to work and cause another problem.
"I felt nauseous from those medicines," said Edwards.
So she enrolled in a clinical trial to try an older medication delivered in a new way: through an inhaler. Dr. Sheena Aurora of the Swedish Headache Center says the drug already has a proven track record as an I-V medication.
"It's just very inconvenient for patients to come into the office or go into urgent care. It's going to replace something we already know but in a much more patient-friendly fashion," said Aurora.
Edwards experienced relief in just 30 minutes. The FDA has not yet approved Levadex, but it has potential for those who haven't been helped by current medications.
"There are a lot of patients where the Triptan medicines either don't work or they don't work consistently," said Aurora.
Edwards is sold.
"I can function with my kids and I can play with them and I don't feel like I might have this debilitating thing, I don't feel trapped," said Edwards.
If the research goes well, Levadex could be on the market in two to three years.
The next phase three trial will begin in early 2010. Swedish Hospital is not yet recruiting patients, but if you're interested in being put on a waiting list for the study, you can call 206-386-2295.
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